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tate individual cognitive growth and the acquisition of knowledge. Learning, in other words, is social in nature. As Vygotsky put it, individuals ‘grow into the intellectual life of those around them.’ One of the most obvious ways our stu- dents ‘grow into the intellectual life of those around them’ is through excursions and incursions that bring the outside world and students together in a unique learning opportunity. As a student, I went on school excursions to a dairy farm, a timber yard, a shopping centre, rainforests, an old gold-mining town, museums, galleries, theatre, concerts, sports centres, a nursing home – where I was acci- dentally left behind. Talk to colleagues and you’ll find that everyone has a memorable school excursion experience – some clearly life changing, some just hilarious. Beyond ticking off curricula requirements, excursions give students a controlled adven- ture into the world ‘outside’ the physical and ‘safe’ bounds of school. For experiential and practical learning, the excursion is a bril- liant educational opportunity once teachers have conquered permission slips, risk assess- ments and transport. To enable and enhance the development of our students we need to create opportunities for them to explore the social environment they live in. When we do, we provide powerful learning experiences, as one teacher from Melbourne’s Sunshine College recently attested: ‘I took seven Year 11 students and they loved it!!! Loved the whole theatre bit, (which was) a first for a lot of them, that is, in terms of going to “proper” theatre.’ Excursions and incursions are a step out of the everyday action and routine of school and may well engage students who don’t respond to usual mainstream classroom activities and who learn in differentways.As oneVictorian teacher commented after an excursion to see Othello, ‘Some of the students were speech- less – a rare occurrence indeed. Marcus Graham (as Iago) was fantastic, extremely funny, and one student said, “I could actually understand him when he wasn’t speaking.” It was a great day excursion.’ Excursions offer a sensory learning opportunity whereby students explore the reality of an environment, be it geographi- cal, mathematical, scientific, social or artistic, through a range of sensory experi- ences. Thesemay range fromthe stale smell on a train carriage to the angular lines of a building to the melodies of an orchestra or the sounds of bird calls. The forward- thinking teacher and the open-minded practitioner can find ways to incorporate diverse students’ responses to their experi- ence. the excursion – be prepared In addition to the administrative paperwork involved in an excursion, it’s essential that teachers are prepared several days or even weeks in advance. There are some key ques- tions to ask: ? What is the curricular connection of this excursion and what can I do to prepare my students to gain from this experi- ence? ? What educational benefits or opportuni- ties might exist beyond curriculum and what can I do to prepare my students for these other benefits or opportunities? ? What are the operational considera- tions for moving a group of students? To answer this, you need to consider: ? school uniform or other appropriate clothing and footwear ? departure and return times, and loca- tions ? means of transport lunch and snacks – requiring small ? bags and remembering that some ven- ues have bag restrictions and laptops, textbooks and even mobile phones are probably not necessary for a trip to the theatre, museum or even the dairy farm ? teachers’ roles – who is responsible for what and whom on the day ? student-to-teacher ratios appropriate to the particular excursion, and ? particular students’ health and medi- cal conditions – make sure all accom- panying teachers know which students have what conditions and that there is at least one mobile phone with the school number programmed into it in case of an emergency. It’s all too frequent on a school excur- sion that an asthmatic student may forget to bring their puffer or a student recovering from a serious illness or accident may be overcome by heat or even the excitement of the adventure. So be aware of who these students are. Quick thinking by accom- panying teachers who are aware of health and medical conditions is the most effective action. the incursion – be prepared There are a few things to think about before undertaking an incursion, basically to iden- tify why you’re bringing an activity into a school. As part of the Bell Shakespeare Education in Schools Student Workshop program, we contact teachers in advance to discuss their specific needs and expectations for the session and to establish where the students are up to in their course of study of the particular play we will be exploring in the session. For the visiting practitioner going into a school the preparatory questions are similar to those for teachers: ? What do the teachers hope their students will gain in terms of the curriculum from this incursion and what can teachers do to prepare students for this experience? ? What educational benefits or opportuni- ties might exist beyond curriculum and what can teachers do to prepare their stu- dents for these other benefits or oppor- tunities? ? What are the space and seating or stand- ing requirements and what are any other resource requirements so that teachers can ensure all is ready in advance? Making the most of experiential learning Well-planned and prepared excursions and incursions help students to make sense of themselves and their surroundings, and might even inspire the infrequent attendee feature – excursions & incursions 23